New York Lights
by AddisonBraddock
Summary: Everybody saw her as the perfect girl. But what people did not see was the jaded girl with the tragic past. Will she finally let someone in close enough to bring down the walls she's built around her and her heart? NILEY
1. Trailer

**Miley Stewart seemed like the perfect girl… **

_Shows Miley being admired by guys as she walks into a club_

**She has the dream job…**

_Please welcome one of the best fashion designers ever known to man, Miley Stewart! _

**She lives with her best friends… **

"_Jake! Lily! The movie's startin'!" _

**Is invited to the most priviledged parties…**

_Britney: Miley, It's a pleasure to have you! _

**She was the perfect girl… **

_Fashion industry phenom, Miley Stewart, voted role model of the year! _

**Or so it seemed… **

_Shows Miley sliding down the door sobbing_

**What if the perfect girl, wasn't really perfect after all? What if the perfect girl didn't believe in the perfect love? **

_Miley: Oh please, love is just something our parents told us to believe in when we were younger. There is no such thing as love. Love is purely a myth. A fairytale. A fantasy. _

**What if the perfect girl had the tragic past? **

_Shows Miley staring at a graveyard with tears in her eyes _

**A past that broke her so badly, it would take an eternity to heal…**

_Jake: Miley, you have to stop doing this to yourself. Your just wounding yourself even deeper. _

_Miley: It's not fair, Jake. Bad things happen to good people. It's not fair! _

**But what if somebody can save her from self destruction? **

"_Hi, I'm Nick." _

"_I think everyone knows that. Miley Stewart, nice to meet you." _

**Will she finally let someone in and help her pick up the pieces? **

_Shows Miley smiling at Nick… _

_Shows Nick smiling at Miley… _

**Or will she push the only person who can save her away? **

_Nick: Why are you so afraid of letting me in, Miley?! _

**Can she let go of the past and pick up the pieces of her shattered life?**

_Shows Miley throwing something into the water_

**Or will it end with more broken hearts? **

_Shows Miley with tears in her eyes… _

_Shows Nick with tears in his eyes… _

**Find out in… **

_**New York Lights **_

_**A Niley Fanfic **_

_**Starring:**_

**Miley Stewart **

"_I can think of a million solutions for this. But trust me, love isn't the answer. Love can't always be the answer." _

**Nick Grey **

"_How would you know? You said it yourself, you never let anyone close enough to hurt you." _

**Lily Truscott **

"_I know you promised, Miley, but do you really think he'd want you to be this way? He'd want you to be happy. You and I both know that." _

**Jake Ryan **

"_When are you going to stop lying to yourself, Mi?" _

**Joe Grey **

"_She's really something, Nick. Hold onto this one. She's worth it." _

**Taylor James – Grey **

"_It's okay to ask for help, Miles. You just have to let someone in." _

**Kevin Grey**

"_Love maybe tragical, but it's deffinitely worth fighting for." _

**And… **

**Danielle Grey **

"_Love can never be a mistake." _

_**A tale about **_

_**Romance **_

_**Drama**_

_**Life **_

_**Tragedy**_

_**And… **_

_**LOVE **_

_**From the creator of: Simple Song and Forever and Almost Always… **_

…_**Coming Soon… **_

**Hey, so since I finished Forever And Almost Always I figured I'd start a new fanfic. This is a future project so if I get good feedback I'll probably do it after Simple Song. So tell me what you guys think. I greatly value your opinion. Suggestions are very welcome as well, PM me if you have any ideas. **

**Love, **

**NILEYISOFFTHECHAIN :] **


	2. Nightmares

_Sprawled across the cold cement was a girl, bleeding profusely, bones broken and on the edge of unconciousness. Her vision clouded, her head and lids heavy. She used the little strength she had left to try and keep her eyes open as she suffered in pain. She tried sitting up, the slightly rational part of her brain wanted to, but she feared her heart could not take it. She knew what her ocean eyes would see, she knew the scene she would see would crush her heart. She knew that witnessing the tragedy close to her would near her to death than she already was. So, she lay there, bleeding and suffering… waiting for the light and death to take her. To her surprise though, it didn't. Instead, she saw a man, angelic and tall standing far from her. She did not know if she was delusional, but the man standing in a far proximity to her was carrying a child in his arms, waving to her as if he and the child were saying goodbye. She knew who the man was, although the child she could not comprehend who it was. She tried screaming, hurting her already battered body even more, but she could not stand up and beg for them not to go. So instead she lay there helpless with tears streaming down her face… _

"_We love you," and with that the two figures walked away into what seemed as a bright light _

"NO!!!"

"Mi! Miley! Miley it's okay sweetheart, it's just a dream! Miley wake up!" Lily Truscott sat on the edge of her best friend's bed trying to shake her awake. The girl in bed had been screaming, sweating cold, and suffering from a terrible nightmare. She finally woke up, and sat up panting with tears streaming from her eyes.

"It was just a dream, Mile" Her guy bestfriend soothed as he took her into his arms and rubbed her back.

The girl sighed, it felt so real. She's had this dream before. In fact, it's been happening for the past five years of her life. But this wasn't just any other dream, it was something that actually happened to her. Something that has broken the once happy-go-lucky brunette in the blond male's arms. If it wasn't obvious, the great Miley Stewart, just like everybody, had a tragic past.

"What are we going to do, Jake?" The shorter blond asked once they left their troubled friend's room. "I know we said we should just let her heal and let nature take it's course but it's been five years. Nothing's happened. Nothing's changed. I'm worried."

"We all are, Lily, but you know how stubborn Miley can be, she doesn't want us to help. But she's in need of it." The tall male concluded.

"I know that. It just hurts seeing her that way. I thought moving here would do her some good. Hence us coming with her, but she's still the same." Lily sighed, this was truly heart breaking.

"There's nothing we can do now. We'll figure this out in the morning, okay? For now, she's asleep – hopefully until morning." The two blonds sighed, said their goodnights and headed of to their respective rooms to once again slip into unconsciousness. But little did they know, that their other friend was far from the peaceful slumber.

In the room farthest the hallway was the one and only Miley Stewart. Now if you'd go out on the streets and ask anybody they would describe her as a fashion designer, a business tycoon, or a malibu-raised beauty. But to the people closest to her, they would describe her as lonely, broken or even _jaded_. Yes, Miley Stewart might seem like the perfect girl but, there's more than the armor-protected façade she's build around herself.

Miley's P.O.V.

I woke up sweating and panting with tears streaming down my face. I sat up to see my two best friends on either side of me. I was sobbing into Jake's chest as I remembered the nightmare I just woke up from. The nightmare I've been having for the past five years. You would think I'd be used to this nightmare but truthfully, every time it came back, it just wounded me even deeper. It reminded me of my tragic past. As Lily and Jake exited my room, I lay on my bed tossing and turning but prohibited myself from ever closing my eyes. I was too scared. What if I dream of that incident again? So I lay there flat on my back, staring at the plain white ceiling above me. After awhile, I sat up and went to my closet. I took out a plain white box from the top shelf and sat on the carpet in front of my bed with it. I took off the square-shaped lid and took out a black velvety box from inside of it. I stared at the sparkling diamond in front of me as more tears clouded my vision and eventually spilled over. When will I ever have the strength to just throw it all away?

Hours later, the sun was up and I was yet to sleep. I showered, got ready for work and walked out into our apartment's kitchen. Jake shot me a small smile from where he was with his coffee on the couch watching the morning news while Lily was busy making something by the counter.

"Morning," I say as I approach her figure.

"Hey, we saved some coffee in the pot for you," She said as she looked away from the waffles she was cooking.

"Thanks," I say as I walked over to the coffee pot and poured the contents into my mug.

"You okay?" She asked as she placed three plates of golden brown waffles in the table.

I give her a small nod as she calls Jake and we sit down for breakfast.

"So what's on your itinerary for today, Ms. Hotshot designer?" Jake asks swallowing his waffles.

"Nothing. Just hanging at the store." I say bluntly. "You?"

"Same. Doing some paper work from home." He says. Jake works for an advertising company in the city. "How about you, Lils?"

"The usual, I have a live interview to do." Lily worked as a reporter on "Good Morning, USA" in their celebrity section.

Breakfast soon ended Lily and I scrambled out of the apartment and into the elevators. We got to the basement, said our goodbyes, and got into our separate cars.

*****

The day went by slowly. It was early afternoon that I decided to work on the upcoming summer line when the shop's door opened, ringing the bell.

"Oh my, Gosh! You're Miley Stewart!" I heard a high pitched voice say.

"Umm… Hi? Can I help you?" I asked the excited looking female teenager in the middle of my store with wide eyes staring at all the dresses.

"Jana Elizabeth Grey but please, call me Ellie," She said as she shook my hand.

"Hi Ellie, I'm Miley." I say with a laugh.

"Hey sorry, I'm Nick Grey, this crazy child's uncle." A tall, curly headed man says as he stepped forward.

"I think everyone knows that. Hi, I'm Miley Stewart." I say shaking his hand.

"I think everyone knows that, too. It's a pleasure to meet you," He mimics as we both share a chuckle.

"Likewise. Well then, what can I do for you-" I was about to ask but got cut off by Ellie.

"The prom is coming up in our school and-" this time I cut her off.

"You need the perfect dress, I get it." I say.

"See how incredible she is, Uncle Nick?!" She exclaims and both he and I laugh.

"So how about you head along there to that side and look at all the formal dresses and I'll be with you in a sec." I say and she happily runs along to the formal section as I put away my designs into a drawer.

"This is going to take forever, isn't it?" Nick asks as I step out from behind the counter.

"Well, it's the prom. Every girl wants to feel like a princess on that day and well… it begins with the perfect dress." I say as we finally make it where Ellie stood with about five dresses in hand.

"Uncle Nick, look! So many dresses!" The excited girl says from where she stood.

"Why do I have a feeling my credit card is going to get some serious scratching today?" He asks me and I just laugh. "Is it too late to take back the early birthday gift?"

"Probably." I say and he groans.

*****

Three hours and around twenty dresses later, Ellie is yet to pick her prom dress.

"Come on, Els! We've been here for three hours. Just pick a dress!" Nick says from his seat.

"Uncle Nick!" The teenager groans. "I have to have the perfect dress. I only get to go to prom once. And for once, it's not you, dad's, and Uncle Joe's boring red carpet events. It's the prom where I get to spend time with my friends." She says and I see Nick soften at her statement. It must be hard growing up in the spotlight.

This made me think, what she said was true. You only get to go to prom once and it should be perfect. I knew mine was. I know I wasn't supposed to do this, it goes against my policy but, there is an exception to every rule, right?

"Hey. You know what? I think I may have the perfect dress for you," I say as I signal for them to come with me near the back of my shop. I lead them to the back room and walk over to a closet with my other designs and pull out a hanger which dress is wrapped in a black clothes container. I unzip the black case and pull out the dress and hear Ellie gasp.

"This wasn't supposed to be out until next spring," I say as I show her the dress. The dress has a sweetheart neckline, and is made out of dark gold, almost bronze sequins from the waist up and the hem is made of a dark crème chiffon that ends just above the knee.

"It's perfect," Ellie says in awe "but I can't wear it." She says sadly.

"Why not?" I demand. "You'll look great in it." She had a very good body for a sixteen year old.

"But Miley, like you said it isn't supposed to be out till next spring and-" She says but again, I cut her off.

"None sense, consider it my early birthday present." I say and she runs to me and hugs me.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She says as we both laugh.

"No problem, here let me wrap it for you," I say and make my way to the counter and put it in a "Miley Stewart" paper bag and hand it to her as Nick hands me a plastic card, but I refuse it.

"What?" He asks me confused.

"Didn't you hear me? I told her it was my early birthday present." I say and Ellie squeals again.

"Thank you!" She screams and hugs me again.

"Just as long as you promise to rock it at the prom and have a good time," I say and she nods and heads out the door before Nick could speak.

"Are you sure?" Nick asks me incredulously.

"Definitely. I know how every girl wants to feel on their prom day so as long as she's happy," I say fixing the papers on the counter.

"Thank you. It means a lot to her," He says and I nod.

"No biggie. It was my pleasure, but you better get her home before she pops a blood vessel." I say pointing to Ellie on the phone, jumping up and down near the passenger door of a car.

"Yeah, well… thanks again. You sure surprised me today." He says and I get intrigued.

"Oh?" I inquire.

"Yup. Usually, fashion designers are too caught up in their 'greatness' to even entertain their costumers. You're a pretty intriguing girl, Miley Stewart." He says and I smile.

"Yeah, well…" I copy his words.

"Yeah, I better go. Like you said, she might pop a blood vessel." He says. "Have a goodnight." He says by the door.

"Have a good night as well," I say as he exits the door.

Minutes after they leave, I decide to call it an early day and close up the shop. I decide to stop by a small Thai bistro before heading home.

"So, how was your day?" Lily asks as she takes out the small white boxes from the plastic bag.

"Not too bad," I admit and take a bite of my noodles.

"Oh?" She inquires.

"Yeah. You know Kevin Grey, right? Well his daughter came in and needed a prom dress and couldn't find one so I gave her one from the upcoming spring line as an 'early birthday' present." I say after swallowing.

"From the upcoming spring line, huh? You must have a really good reason for giving away your 'secret-new' line before the launch date." She says eyeing me.

"Yeah but I remember what I wanted my prom to be like. I have to admit I had a great prom." I say and a flashback starts.

_We were in the school auditorium's dance floor that was illuminated by the shining disco ball above us. My hands were locked on his neck and his on my waist as we slow danced. _

_You and me  
_

_And all of the people  
__With nothing to do_

_Nothing to prove..._

_You and me and all other people_

_and I don't know why _

_I can't keep my eyes off you... _

_"I love you, Mi." he says_

"_I love you, too." I answer. And with that, we both lean closer and our lips collide into a breath taking kiss. _

_END OF FLASHBACK _

"Prom was great, wasn't it?" Lily asked.

"One of the best nights ever," I mutter looking down, and finish my dinner.

**GUYS! **

**Hahaha. I knew I said I'd write this after Simple Song but, I couldn't resist ;] I just had this idea and I was afraid I'll forget it if I don't write it now. Let me know what you think about the start. I know It's still crappy but it'll get ore interesting soon :D **


	3. For The First Time In A Long Time

Miley's P.O.V.

Just like most nights, I woke up with a tear-stained face, while I panted. It was that dream again… but this time it was before the horrible accident.

"_I'm so excited to see mamaw!" I said. Mamaw was the only person who cared about me now. Ever since I told dad about me and my big step towards life he's practically disowned me as a daughter. _

"_I know, babe." He said with a chuckle. _

"_I can't wait to tell her," I say as I intertwine our fingers. _

"_Me too," He says _

"_I have something to tell the both of you though," I confess. _

"_Oh?" He asks, suddenly intrigued. _

"_Yep." I say looking down, subconsciously putting my arms around my abdomen. _

"_Well, I can't wait. Whatever it is, it must be big."He said taking a glance at me. _

"_Don't worry. You'll like it, hopefully…" I say. _

"_Never in a million years would I not like something you'd share with me," He said, and kissed my temple as he continued to drive along the empty highway. _

"_I love you," He says. But before I could answer, I heard a high-pitched scream rip from my chest and felt the vehicle we were both in spin and crash as I flew out the broken window and fell into the hard concrete. _

"I love you too," I whisper into the darkness as I continue to cry out. I look pathetic now but honestly… I couldn't care less.

Being used to being awake in the wee hours of the morning, I stand up and take a shower, ready to start another day of my otherwise pointless life. I bathe, and dry myself as I head onto my closet. As much as I would like to sit in bed in my sweats all day, I have to run one of the biggest fashion contributors in the industry. No matter how conceited that sounds. Being Miley Stewart, fashion tycoon, not dressing well is not an option. So I take out a plain white blouse, tuck it in my black pencil skirt, pin my bangs back, slip on some jewelry, and complete my outfit with some black, ankle-high gladiator heels. Not wanting to be plain the face, I quickly put on some mascara, eyeliner, and some shimmery eyeshadow, finishing my make-up with a blazing red lipstick. Perfect. I walk out my room and check the time: 7:21 AM. Lily and Jake would still be asleep. So I walk out the door with my bag and head to the basement for my car. I'd head to a Starbucks before I go to the store.

*****

As usual, my day went by slowly. People who entered my store were all rich and snobby. Not my kind of people. I was just about finished sketching the last dress for the summer collection and honestly, I was tired. The sleepless night was getting to me. I was in the middle of a yawn when my store doors opened and I froze in my seat. The Nick Grey is here in my store. Again.

"Mr. Grey, what brings you here?" I ask. Mr. Grey? What the hell dd I just call him. Crap.

"Well, Ms. _Stewart," _He says deciding to play along with the whose surname thing. "I just got a free day off and I was thinking if maybe you wanted to join me for an early dinner?" He says.

It took awhile for me to process what he just said. The Nick Grey, certified **workaholic**, took time to have an 'early dinner' with me.

"to pay for the dress you gave Ellie, of course," He says noticing my lack of words.

"Oh, you don't have to." I say.

"I know. I want to," He says and I blush.

"I'm sorry, _Nick_" I use his real name because of the skeptical look he's giving me "but the store doesn't close for another two hours and-"

"I can wait," He says, challenging me. "But I know you want nothing then to close up this place and go out to dinner with me." He says with a smile that makes me cave. Ugh. No wonder people call him 'Mr. Charming'.

"Fine. But if another teenage girl comes in here in need of a prom dress in the next two hours, it's your fault if she doesn't have the perfect dress." I say with a smirk.

"I'll take my chances," He says and I smile and grab my bag and coat.

*****

So here we are about twenty minutes later sitting at a small family-owned bistro. I know it's hard to find one in the busy city of New York, but hey, having a GPS in handy works, right? We're in the back of the decent-sized restaurant of course, not to attract attention because when you're with Nick Grey, all eyes are practically on you. Being the gentleman that he is (and now I know it's not just what the media says for 'publicity') he pulls out the chair for me and lets me order first. I don't really know what to get, and this restaurant being 'small' there's nothing much to choose from. So, I go with the first thing that sounds appealing to me.

"I'll have the Bacon Cheeseburger, thank you." The waitress writes it on her little note pad and turns to take Nick's order, who by the way is staring at me with a really confused expression.

"Uh… I think I'll have the strip steak, thanks" He says still not looking away from me.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" I ask him, feeling slightly awkward under his gaze.

"What, no salad?" He asks skeptically. What?

"Excuse me?" I ask. I don't think we're on the same page here.

" It's just… I've never been on a date with somebody who's actually came close to the Bacon Cheeseburger you just ordered. That's impressive. Considering the circumstances." He concludes.

Did he just say _date_? Huh. "Please, your not getting anywhere with a _salad_. Besides, I'm not like most girls. I want to eat something, I eat it. That's why they invented _exercise_." I inform him. "And what do you mean 'circumstances'?" I ask.

"What I mean is, you're a fashion designer. You run fashion shows and work with stick-thin runway models. Aren't you supposed to be against the whole 'eat-meat' thing?" He asks.

"Have you ever been to a 'Miley Stewart' fashion show, Nick?" I ask him incredulously.

"Not really," he says.

"It's not that I have something against these stick-thin girls, Nick. But come on, zero is not a size. I know what it feels like as a kid to look up to these girls and think 'Wow, she's pretty' and honestly, it's such a good feeling. These girls who model my clothes, they're not just runway models. They're role models to all those little girls who want to follow in their foot steps. And it's my job to make sure these girls don't want to be as thin as a pole." I tell him.

"Wow," he says after awhile "If only these girls thought like you." He compliments.

"Well, if others thought the way I did, I wouldn't be one of a kind now, would I?" I joke.

"That's true," he says, surprising me "You are one of a kind, Miley Stewart." He says and I look down trying to hide my blush. Nick Grey just said I was 'one-of-a-kind'. Eeeppp! My heart is doing back flips (if that is even possible) Brace yourself, Miley.

Our food arrived and we made small talk through the whole night. I asked him about his career, he asked me about mine. He asked me where I lived, I asked him where he did. Basically, tonight we were just questioning each other. But as usual, when you're having fun, time flies. Fast. It wasn't long before he took me back to the shop (of course, not without an argument about who was paying, but of course, I lost).

"Thanks for dinner," I tell him, as I sat in the passenger seat of his car.

"No. Thank you," He tells me. Surprising me for the hundredth time today.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I actually had fun tonight. For the first time in a long time, I talked to somebody who wasn't stuck-up and plastic. I _genuinely _had fun tonight. I hope you did too," He says looking at me.

"Don't worry. I had fun too," I say. "Well. It's getting late, I better go." I say and open the car door.

"Hey," he says before I could close the door.

"Yeah?" I say holding the door handle.

"You never gave me your number," He says smiling. Normally, I wouldn't do this but hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Plus, it's been awhile.

"Never said I was going to," I say in a challenging voice and close the door before heading into mine. He sits in his car confused at what just happened, as I start my car. He looks at me and I wink at him from my rear view mirror and drive away. Leaving him frozen in his parking space.

I drive home, enter the apartment to see Jake with a pizza on the coffee table.

"Lily home yet?" I ask and he just points to the hallway where the rooms are.

"Pizza?" He offers and I decline before heading to Lily's room.

"Knock, knock," I say as I enter Lily's room and see her typing something at her desk.

"Hey there, girlie." She says looking away from her laptop.

"Hey," I say sitting at the foot of her bed as she turns the office chair around to face me.

"So… how was your day?" She asks and I can't hold it in anymore.

"I had dinner with Nick Grey," I blurt out and she squeals as I begin to tell her everything about my dinner with Nick Grey, the gentleman.

Regular P.O.V.

As the brunette girl told her blond bestfriend about her night, Lily Truscott could sense the happiness in the tone of voice of Miley Stewart. Lily, intrigued by her friends sudden 'bubbliness' was thrilled. It had been awhile since she's seen this part of Miley. For once in the last five years, Miley actually looked _happy_. At this moment, she praised Nick Grey for whatever magic he had worked on the southern beauty in front of her. Whatever he did, worked for Lily because her best friend was for once happy. Even as the blue-eyed lady exited the room, Lily's smile reached her eyes. Her jaw hurt, but hey, _Miley _was _happy _and that was something you didn't see very often. For the first time in a long time, Miley Stewart, fashion genius actually _smiled_. Little did she know that blocks away from her apartment, a certain curly-headed sensation couldn't stop from smiling either.


End file.
